Strange was elected as a "Jacksonian (later Democrat) to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of "Willie Person Mangum and served from December 5, 1836, to November 16, 1840, when he resigned and resumed the practice of law in Fayetteville, where he died on February 19, 1854 and was buried in the family burial ground at Myrtle Hill, near Fayetteville.

Strange was an ardent and active Freemason, serving as the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons from 1812 through 1814. He also served as Master of Phoenix Lodge No. 8, A. F. & A. M., in Fayetteville, NC, for the year 1826.

Strange commanded the Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry (FILI), an independent militia company in Fayetteville, NC. In this role Strange served as the escort for the Marquis de Lafayette when he visited Fayetteville on the 5th of March, 1825.

A number of people read law with him, including his nephew "James Strange French. He was the author of Eoneguski, or the Cherokee Chief, which has been called the first North Carolina novel.[1]